After building 2 longtails with bronze sleeve bearings on the shaft, I'm considering building one with tapered roller bearings on top. I'm curious if the driveshaft is a 1" shaft turned down to 3/4 in order to give a shoulder in front to fit against the bearing race. Would anyone be willing to divulge how a tapered roller bearing housing is done, or is this top secret info. I can come up with my own design, but I'd like to know how everyone else does it in order to cut down on machining costs.
I also wouldn't mind a report or two on how long the sleeve bushings last. Mine are in great shape after about 16 hours of hard use this duck season. Is it even worth the trouble to build a bearing housing or cheaper to just resleeve the shaft housing every couple of years?
Thanks,
JBJ

i dont think the taper bearing is used to support weight in these applications the taper bearing is used because it has more surface area and lasts longer. just one bearing one race. i've seen where people make them with a 1'' hexagonal pipe union and bore it out to accept race, bearing, and seal. are you using 1" schedule 40 pipe or tubing for housing?

shafts are made from 3/4 round stock and races are added if needed.

Worth converting IMO.

Use a two bolt flange bearing

Just wanted to say thanks for the responses. I may try the flange bearing in addition to the bronze sleeve bearing. I'm still a little curious about the bearings up front on godevils and such. Is there a lock collar on the shaft used to press against the bearing race for thrust, or is a different method used?
Thanks again,
JBJ

I have yet to find a bearing housing like theres. I built a longtail and used a tappered roller bearing for my lower bearing. I did use a locking shaft collar to push the bearing into the race.

i built this its a gas pipe reducer it screws onto the shaft housing pipe and i had the other end machined and the sealed bearing pressed in works 1000 times better then the brass bushing no heat at all and less grease leaking out hope this helps good luck

Thanks for the pics! I may take one of mine and cut the shaft loose, thread it and fix mine with regular bearings. I am planning on keeping the center sleeve if I change. One problem I ran into is that the heat from welding things like the skeg/rudder, cavitation plate, braces and such will screw with the roundness of the inside of the shaft and make the sleeves difficult to install/remove.
thanks again,
JBJ